> >UMTS delayed,no handsets available,
>
> Two issues here. THe network equipment is (fairly) widely available, if
> pricey. The handsets are a huge problem because they need not just
> W-CDMA/UMTS, but also GSM and GPRS, and to be able to handover betwen all
> three based on what's available. Just getting this to woork, let alone
> putting it on a chip, let alone mass-producing that is a huge headache.
> Plus, of course, the screen and battery life issues common to Japan.
Talking about 2.5G technology, i.e. putting aside for a while W-CDMA,
wouldn't be more appropriate to concentrate the effort on building reliable
"GPRS/GSM only" handsets? Apart from the technology, what has to be tested
is the reaction of users to new kind of services, with related issues (e.g.
billing). Operators with a good GSM/GPRS infrastructure could wait for 3G
technology, see Vodafone, considering also that in many EU countries (forget
about UK&Germany, though they hold a huge share of the potential 3G EU
users) the 3G licenses were not such a huge investment.
By the way, as for 3G handsets european operators could exploit the testing
that japanese manufacturers are carrying on with Docomo. So it's reasonable
to expect less problems on the handset side when in Europe UMTS will start.
What about the non japanese manufacturers? The potential advantage of
companies like NEC and Panasonic is huge (ok, they are having a lot of
problems here in japan but it's only a matter of time). But of course if
UMTS is delayed this advantage can disappear with the time passing.
Any thoughs?
Teo
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Received on Tue Jul 24 10:23:52 2001